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Ferrari C, Arioli M, Atias D, Merabet LB, Cattaneo Z. Perception and discrimination of real-life emotional vocalizations in early blind individuals. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1386676. [PMID: 38784630 PMCID: PMC11112099 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1386676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2024] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction The capacity to understand others' emotions and react accordingly is a key social ability. However, it may be compromised in case of a profound sensory loss that limits the contribution of available contextual cues (e.g., facial expression, gestures, body posture) to interpret emotions expressed by others. In this study, we specifically investigated whether early blindness affects the capacity to interpret emotional vocalizations, whose valence may be difficult to recognize without a meaningful context. Methods We asked a group of early blind (N = 22) and sighted controls (N = 22) to evaluate the valence and the intensity of spontaneous fearful and joyful non-verbal vocalizations. Results Our data showed that emotional vocalizations presented alone (i.e., with no contextual information) are similarly ambiguous for blind and sighted individuals but are perceived as more intense by the former possibly reflecting their higher saliency when visual experience is unavailable. Disussion Our study contributes to a better understanding of how sensory experience shapes ememotion recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Ferrari
- Department of Humanities, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
- IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Maria Arioli
- Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy
| | - Doron Atias
- Department of Psychology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Lotfi B. Merabet
- The Laboratory for Visual Neuroplasticity, Department of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Zaira Cattaneo
- Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy
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2
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Arioli M, Ferrari C, Merabet LB, Cattaneo Z. Direct reciprocity and reputation shape trust decisions similarly in blind and sighted individuals. Conscious Cogn 2024; 120:103683. [PMID: 38552602 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2024.103683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2023] [Revised: 03/13/2024] [Accepted: 03/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/12/2024]
Abstract
This study addresses the effects of blindness on trust. Using an auditory version of the multi-round Trust Game, we investigated the effect of reputation and reciprocity on trust decisions in early blind and sighted participants. During each round of the game, participants were endowed with a sum of money and had to decide how much they wanted to invest in their partners, who were manipulated as a function of their good or bad reputation and individualistic or cooperative behavior. The data showed that negative first impression about the partner (bad reputation and/or selfish behavior) impacted more blind participants than sighted ones. However, following repeated interactions with the partners, the overall mean investment aligned between the blind and sighted groups. We interpret these findings as suggesting that blindness may guide participants to a more cautionary behavior when dealing with partners with negative initial characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Arioli
- Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy
| | - Chiara Ferrari
- Department of Humanities, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy; IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy.
| | - Lotfi B Merabet
- The Laboratory for Visual Neuroplasticity, Department of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
| | - Zaira Cattaneo
- Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy
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3
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Cappagli G, Cuturi LF, Signorini S, Morelli F, Cocchi E, Gori M. Early visual deprivation disrupts the mental representation of numbers in visually impaired children. Sci Rep 2022; 12:22538. [PMID: 36581659 PMCID: PMC9800586 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-25044-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2022] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Several shreds of evidence indicate that visual deprivation does not alter numerical competence neither in adults nor in children. However, studies reporting non-impaired numerical abilities in the visually impaired population present some limitations: (a) they mainly assessed the ability to process numbers (e.g. mathematical competence) rather than represent numbers (e.g. mental number line); (b) they principally focused on positive rather than negative number estimates; (c) they investigated numerical abilities in adult individuals except one focusing on children (Crollen et al. in Cognition 210:104586, 2021). Overall, this could limit a comprehensive explanation of the role exerted by vision on numerical processing when vision is compromised. Here we investigated how congenital visual deprivation affects the ability to represent positive and negative numbers in horizontal and sagittal planes in visually impaired children (thirteen children with low vision, eight children with complete blindness, age range 6-15 years old). We adapted the number-to-position paradigm adopted by Crollen et al. (Cognition 210:104586, 2021), asking children to indicate the spatial position of positive and negative numbers on a graduated rule positioned horizontally or sagittally in the frontal plane. Results suggest that long-term visual deprivation alters the ability to identify the spatial position of numbers independently of the spatial plane and the number polarity. Moreover, results indicate that relying on poor visual acuity is detrimental for low vision children when asked to localize both positive and negative numbers in space, suggesting that visual experience might have a differential role in numerical processing depending on number polarity. Such findings add knowledge related to the impact of visual experience on numerical processing. Since both positive and negative numbers are fundamental aspects of learning mathematical principles, the outcomes of the present study inform about the need to implement early rehabilitation strategies to prevent the risk of numerical difficulties in visually impaired children.
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Affiliation(s)
- G. Cappagli
- grid.25786.3e0000 0004 1764 2907Unit for Visually Impaired People (UVIP), Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Melen 83, 16100 Genova, Italy ,grid.419416.f0000 0004 1760 3107Developmental Neuro-Ophthalmology Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - L. F. Cuturi
- grid.25786.3e0000 0004 1764 2907Unit for Visually Impaired People (UVIP), Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Melen 83, 16100 Genova, Italy ,grid.10438.3e0000 0001 2178 8421Department of Cognitive, Psychological, Pedagogical Sciences and of Cultural Studies, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | - S. Signorini
- grid.419416.f0000 0004 1760 3107Developmental Neuro-Ophthalmology Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - F. Morelli
- grid.419416.f0000 0004 1760 3107Developmental Neuro-Ophthalmology Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy ,grid.8982.b0000 0004 1762 5736Department of Brain and Behavioural Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | | | - M. Gori
- grid.25786.3e0000 0004 1764 2907Unit for Visually Impaired People (UVIP), Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Melen 83, 16100 Genova, Italy
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4
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Crollen V, Warusfel H, Noël MP, Collignon O. Early visual deprivation does not prevent the emergence of basic numerical abilities in blind children. Cognition 2021; 210:104586. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2021.104586] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2020] [Revised: 12/21/2020] [Accepted: 01/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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5
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Crollen V, Collignon O. How visual is the « number sense »? Insights from the blind. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 118:290-297. [PMID: 32711006 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.07.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2019] [Revised: 06/18/2020] [Accepted: 07/20/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Is vision a necessary building block for the foundations of mathematical cognition? A straightforward model to test the causal role visual experience plays in the development of numerical abilities is to study people born without sight. In this review we will demonstrate that congenitally blind people can develop numerical abilities that equal or even surpass those of sighted individuals, despite representing numbers using a qualitatively different representational format. We will also show that numerical thinking in blind people maps onto regions typically involved in visuo-spatial processing in the sighted, highlighting how intrinsic computational biases may constrain the reorganization of numerical networks in case of early visual deprivation. More generally, we will illustrate how the study of arithmetic abilities in congenitally blind people represents a compelling model to understand how sensory experience scaffolds the development of higher-level cognitive representations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Virginie Crollen
- Institute of Psychology (IPSY) and Institute of Neuroscience (IoNS), Université Catholique de Louvain, Place Cardinal Mercier 10, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
| | - Olivier Collignon
- Institute of Psychology (IPSY) and Institute of Neuroscience (IoNS), Université Catholique de Louvain, Place Cardinal Mercier 10, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento, Trento, Italy.
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6
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Viewing of figurative paintings affects pseudoneglect as measured by line bisection. Atten Percept Psychophys 2020; 82:3795-3803. [PMID: 33025464 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-020-02138-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Neurologically intact individuals usually show a leftward bias in spatial attention, known as pseudoneglect, likely reflecting a right-hemisphere dominance in the control of spatial attention. A leftward bias also seems to manifest when individuals are asked to provide aesthetic judgments about visual stimuli, like artworks. However, whether artwork perception affects the allocation of spatial attention has never been directly investigated. Here, we assessed whether viewing figurative paintings affects hemispheric imbalance in the control of spatial attention by asking participants to bisect a series of lines presented on a grey background, on figurative paintings or on non-artistic photographs of real-world scenes, while either simply observing or explicitly evaluating each image. In line with previous evidence, participants showed a leftward bisection bias in the baseline condition, reflecting pseudoneglect. Critically, the presence of a painting in the background (irrespective of whether an aesthetic evaluation was required or not) significantly shifted the bias further to the left compared to when lines were bisected over a grey background (baseline) or a photographed scene. This finding suggests that perception of visual art may affect the control of spatial attention, possibly tapping on right-hemisphere resources related to visuospatial exploration, regardless of reward apprehension mechanisms (at least when images do not evoke strong emotional reactions leading to polarized like/dislike judgements).
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7
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Rinaldi L, Ciricugno A, Merabet LB, Vecchi T, Cattaneo Z. The Effect of Blindness on Spatial Asymmetries. Brain Sci 2020; 10:brainsci10100662. [PMID: 32977398 PMCID: PMC7597958 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci10100662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2020] [Revised: 09/11/2020] [Accepted: 09/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The human cerebral cortex is asymmetrically organized with hemispheric lateralization pervading nearly all neural systems of the brain. Whether the lack of normal visual development affects hemispheric specialization subserving the deployment of visuospatial attention asymmetries is controversial. In principle, indeed, the lack of early visual experience may affect the lateralization of spatial functions, and the blind may rely on a different sensory input compared to the sighted. In this review article, we thus present a current state-of-the-art synthesis of empirical evidence concerning the effects of visual deprivation on the lateralization of various spatial processes (i.e., including line bisection, mirror symmetry, and localization tasks). Overall, the evidence reviewed indicates that spatial processes are supported by a right hemispheric network in the blind, hence, analogously to the sighted. Such a right-hemisphere dominance, however, seems more accentuated in the blind as compared to the sighted as indexed by the greater leftward bias shown in different spatial tasks. This is possibly the result of the more pronounced involvement of the right parietal cortex during spatial tasks in blind individuals compared to the sighted, as well as of the additional recruitment of the right occipital cortex, which would reflect the cross-modal plastic phenomena that largely characterize the blind brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Rinaldi
- Department of Brain and Behavioural Science, University of Pavia, Piazza Botta 6, 27100 Pavia, Italy;
- Correspondence:
| | | | - Lotfi B. Merabet
- The Laboratory for Visual Neuroplasticity, Department of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA;
| | - Tomaso Vecchi
- Department of Brain and Behavioural Science, University of Pavia, Piazza Botta 6, 27100 Pavia, Italy;
- IRCCS Mondino Foundation, 27100 Pavia, Italy; (A.C.); (Z.C.)
| | - Zaira Cattaneo
- IRCCS Mondino Foundation, 27100 Pavia, Italy; (A.C.); (Z.C.)
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milano, Italy
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8
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Ciricugno A, Ferrari C, Rusconi ML, Cattaneo Z. The left posterior cerebellum is involved in orienting attention along the mental number line: An online-TMS study. Neuropsychologia 2020; 143:107497. [PMID: 32413432 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2020] [Revised: 05/05/2020] [Accepted: 05/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Although converging evidence suggests that the posterior cerebellum is involved in visuospatial functions and in the orienting of attention, a clear topography of cerebellar regions causally involved in the control of spatial attention is still missing. In this study, we aimed to shed light on this issue by using online neuronavigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to temporarily interfere with posterior medial (Vermis lobule VII) and left lateral (Crus I/II) cerebellar activity during a task measuring visuospatial (landmark task, Experiment 1 and 2) and representational (number bisection task, Experiment 2) asymmetries in the orienting of attention. At baseline, participants showed attentional biases consistent with the literature, that is a leftward and upward bias with horizontal and vertical lines, respectively, and a leftward bias in number bisection. Critically, TMS over the left cerebellar hemisphere significantly counteracted pseudoneglect in the number bisection task, whilst not affecting attentional biases in the landmark task. In turn, TMS over the posterior vermis did not affect performance in either task. Taken together, our findings suggest that the left posterior cerebellar hemisphere (but not the posterior vermis) is a critical node of an extended brain network subtending the control of spatial attention, at least when attention needs to be allocated to an internal representational space and a certain degree of mental manipulation is required (as in the number bisection task).
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Chiara Ferrari
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Maria Luisa Rusconi
- Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy
| | - Zaira Cattaneo
- IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy; Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.
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9
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Kolarik AJ, Raman R, Moore BCJ, Cirstea S, Gopalakrishnan S, Pardhan S. The accuracy of auditory spatial judgments in the visually impaired is dependent on sound source distance. Sci Rep 2020; 10:7169. [PMID: 32346036 PMCID: PMC7189236 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-64306-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2019] [Accepted: 04/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Blindness leads to substantial enhancements in many auditory abilities, and deficits in others. It is unknown how severe visual losses need to be before changes in auditory abilities occur, or whether the relationship between severity of visual loss and changes in auditory abilities is proportional and systematic. Here we show that greater severity of visual loss is associated with increased auditory judgments of distance and room size. On average participants with severe visual losses perceived sounds to be twice as far away, and rooms to be three times larger, than sighted controls. Distance estimates for sighted controls were most accurate for closer sounds and least accurate for farther sounds. As the severity of visual impairment increased, accuracy decreased for closer sounds and increased for farther sounds. However, it is for closer sounds that accurate judgments are needed to guide rapid motor responses to auditory events, e.g. planning a safe path through a busy street to avoid collisions with other people, and falls. Interestingly, greater visual impairment severity was associated with more accurate room size estimates. The results support a new hypothesis that crossmodal calibration of audition by vision depends on the severity of visual loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew J Kolarik
- Vision and Eye Research Institute, School of Medicine, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United Kingdom. .,Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
| | - Rajiv Raman
- Vision and Eye Research Institute, School of Medicine, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United Kingdom.,Shri Bhagwan Mahavir Vitreoretinal Services, Sankara Nethralaya Eye Hospital, Chennai, India
| | - Brian C J Moore
- Vision and Eye Research Institute, School of Medicine, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United Kingdom.,Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Silvia Cirstea
- Vision and Eye Research Institute, School of Medicine, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United Kingdom.,School of Computing and Information Science, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Sarika Gopalakrishnan
- Faculty of Low Vision Care, Elite School of Optometry, Chennai, India.,Low Vision Care Department, Sankara Nethralaya Eye Hospital, Chennai, India
| | - Shahina Pardhan
- Vision and Eye Research Institute, School of Medicine, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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10
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Ciricugno A, Rinaldi L, Vecchi T, Merabet LB, Cattaneo Z. The Role of Binocular Vision in Driving Pseudoneglect in Visual and Haptic Bisection: Evidence From Strabismic and Monocular Blind Individuals. Multisens Res 2020; 33:549-567. [PMID: 31059488 DOI: 10.1163/22134808-20191347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2018] [Accepted: 02/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Prior studies have shown that strabismic amblyopes do not exhibit pseudoneglect in visual line bisection, suggesting that the right-hemisphere dominance in the control of spatial attention may depend on a normally developing binocular vision. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether an abnormal binocular childhood experience also affects spatial attention in the haptic modality, thus reflecting a supramodal effect. To this aim, we compared the performance of normally sighted, strabismic and early monocular blind participants in a visual and a haptic line bisection task. In visual line bisection, strabismic individuals tended to err to the right of the veridical midpoint, in contrast with normally sighted participants who showed pseudoneglect. Monocular blind participants exhibited high variability in their visual performance, with a tendency to bisect toward the direction of the functioning eye. In turn, in haptic bisection, all participants consistently erred towards the left of the veridical midpoint. Taken together, our findings support the view that pseudoneglect in the visual and haptic modality relies on different functional and neural mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Ciricugno
- 1Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Luca Rinaldi
- 2Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.,3NeuroMI, Milan Center for Neuroscience, Milan, Italy
| | - Tomaso Vecchi
- 1Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.,4IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Lotfi B Merabet
- 5The Laboratory for Visual Neuroplasticity, Department of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
| | - Zaira Cattaneo
- 2Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.,4IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
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Cattaneo Z, Rinaldi L, Geraci C, Cecchetto C, Papagno C. Spatial biases in deaf, blind, and deafblind individuals as revealed by a haptic line bisection task. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2018; 71:2325-2333. [PMID: 30362405 DOI: 10.1177/1747021817741288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
In this study, we investigated whether auditory deprivation leads to a more balanced bilateral control of spatial attention in the haptic space. We tested four groups of participants: early deaf, early blind, deafblind, and control (normally hearing and sighted) participants. Using a haptic line bisection task, we found that while normally hearing individuals (even when blind) showed a significant tendency to bisect to the left of the veridical midpoint (i.e., pseudoneglect), deaf individuals did not show any significant directional bias. This was the case of both deaf signers and non-signers, in line with prior findings obtained using a visual line bisection task. Interestingly, deafblind individuals also erred significantly to the left, resembling the pattern of early blind and control participants. Overall, these data critically suggest that deafness induces changes in the hemispheric asymmetry subtending the orientation of spatial attention also in the haptic modality. Moreover, our findings indicate that what counterbalances the right-hemisphere dominance in the control of spatial attention is not the lack of auditory input per se, nor sign language use, but rather the heavier reliance on visual experience induced by early auditory deprivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zaira Cattaneo
- 1 Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy
- 2 Brain Connectivity Center, IRCCS Mondino, Pavia, Italy
| | - Luca Rinaldi
- 1 Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy
- 3 NeuroMI, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy
| | - Carlo Geraci
- 4 Institut Jean Nicod, Département d'études cognitives, ENS, EHESS, CNRS, PSL Research University, Paris, France
| | - Carlo Cecchetto
- 1 Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy
- 5 Structures Formelles du Langage, Université Paris 8/CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Costanza Papagno
- 1 Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy
- 6 CIMeC and CeRiN, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
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Nava E, Rinaldi L, Bulf H, Macchi Cassia V. The spatial representation of numbers and time follow distinct developmental trajectories: A study in 6- and 10-year-old children. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2018.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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13
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Rinaldi L, Merabet LB, Vecchi T, Cattaneo Z. The spatial representation of number, time, and serial order following sensory deprivation: A systematic review. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2018; 90:371-380. [PMID: 29746876 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.04.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2017] [Revised: 03/15/2018] [Accepted: 04/27/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The spatial representation of numerical and temporal information is thought to be rooted in our multisensory experiences. Accordingly, we may expect visual or auditory deprivation to affect the way we represent numerical magnitude and time spatially. Here, we systematically review recent findings on how blind and deaf individuals represent abstract concepts such as magnitude and time (e.g., past/future, serial order of events) in a spatial format. Interestingly, available evidence suggests that sensory deprivation does not prevent the spatial "re-mapping" of abstract information, but differences compared to normally sighted and hearing individuals may emerge depending on the specific dimension considered (i.e., numerical magnitude, time as past/future, serial order). Herein we discuss how the study of sensory deprived populations may shed light on the specific, and possibly distinct, mechanisms subserving the spatial representation of these concepts. Furthermore, we pinpoint unresolved issues that need to be addressed by future studies to grasp a full understanding of the spatial representation of abstract information associated with visual and auditory deprivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Rinaldi
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy; NeuroMI, Milan Center for Neuroscience, Milano, Italy.
| | - Lotfi B Merabet
- The Laboratory for Visual Neuroplasticity, Department of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
| | - Tomaso Vecchi
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy; IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy
| | - Zaira Cattaneo
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy; IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy.
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14
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The Spatial Musical Association of Response Codes does not depend on a normal visual experience: A study with early blind individuals. Atten Percept Psychophys 2018; 80:813-821. [DOI: 10.3758/s13414-018-1495-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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15
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Gamond L, Vecchi T, Ferrari C, Merabet LB, Cattaneo Z. Emotion processing in early blind and sighted individuals. Neuropsychology 2017; 31:516-524. [PMID: 28287776 DOI: 10.1037/neu0000360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Emotion processing is known to be mediated by a complex network of cortical and subcortical regions with evidence of specialized hemispheric lateralization within the brain. In light of prior evidence indicating that lateralization of cognitive functions (such as language) may depend on normal visual development, we investigated whether the lack of prior visual experience would have an impact on the development of specialized hemispheric lateralization in emotional processing. METHOD We addressed this issue by comparing performance in early blind and sighted controls on a dichotic listening task requiring the detection of specific emotional vocalizations (i.e., suggestive of happiness or sadness) presented independently to either ear. RESULTS Consistent with previous studies, we found that sighted individuals showed enhanced detection of positive vocalizations when presented in the right ear (i.e., processed within the left hemisphere) and negative vocalizations when presented in the left ear (i.e., right hemisphere). It is interesting to note that although blind individuals were as accurate as sighted controls in detecting the valance of the vocalization, performance was not consistent with any pattern of specialized hemispheric lateralization. CONCLUSIONS Overall, these results suggest that although the lack of prior visual experience may not lead to impaired emotion processing performance, the underlying neurophysiological substrate (i.e., degree of special hemispheric lateralization) may depend on normal visual development. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucile Gamond
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca
| | - Tomaso Vecchi
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia
| | | | - Lotfi B Merabet
- The Laboratory for Visual Neuroplasticity, Department of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School
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16
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Eardley AF, Darling S, Dumper P, Browne D, Van Velzen J. Related but different: Examining pseudoneglect in audition, touch and vision. Brain Cogn 2017; 113:164-171. [PMID: 28242465 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2017.01.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2016] [Revised: 09/06/2016] [Accepted: 01/27/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Although researchers have consistently demonstrated a leftward attentional bias in visual and representational (e.g. tactile/mental number line) line bisection tasks, the results from audition have been mixed. Differences in methodology between auditory and visual bisection tasks, especially with regards to the location of stimuli of peripersonal versus extrapersonal space, have also meant that researchers have not been able to compare performance in visual, tactile and auditory line bisection directly. In this research, 39 neurologically typical individuals participated in standard visual and tactile line bisection tasks, together with a newly developed auditory line bisection task. Results demonstrated significant leftward bisection biases across all three modalities. Hence, we demonstrate auditory pseudoneglect in peripersonal space for the first time. Tactile and auditory line bisections showed a relatively small but statistically reliable correlation, but neither task correlated with visual line bisection. This suggests that the processes underlying auditory line bisection are not synonymous to those involved in visual perceptual bisection, and further we argue that this bias may be related to representational pseudoneglect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison F Eardley
- Psychology Department, University of Westminster, 115 New Cavendish Street, London W1W 6UW, UK.
| | - Stephen Darling
- Psychology Department, Memory Research Group, School of Arts and Social Sciences, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh EH21 6UU, UK.
| | - Paul Dumper
- Psychology Department, University of Westminster, 115 New Cavendish Street, London W1W 6UW, UK
| | - David Browne
- Psychology Department, University of Westminster, 115 New Cavendish Street, London W1W 6UW, UK
| | - Jose Van Velzen
- Psychology Department, Goldsmiths, University of London, New Cross, London SE14 6NW, UK.
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17
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The effect of hand movements on numerical bisection judgments in early blind and sighted individuals. Cortex 2015; 71:76-84. [PMID: 26184675 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2015.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2015] [Revised: 06/07/2015] [Accepted: 06/08/2015] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Recent evidence suggests that in representing numbers blind individuals might be affected differently by proprioceptive cues (e.g., hand positions, head turns) than are sighted individuals. In this study, we asked a group of early blind and sighted individuals to perform a numerical bisection task while executing hand movements in left or right peripersonal space and with either hand. We found that in bisecting ascending numerical intervals, the hemi-space in which the hand was moved (but not the moved hand itself) influenced the bisection bias similarly in both early blind and sighted participants. However, when numerical intervals were presented in descending order, the moved hand (and not the hemi-space in which it was moved) affected the bisection bias in all participants. Overall, our data show that the operation to be performed on the mental number line affects the activated spatial reference frame, regardless of participants' previous visual experience. In particular, both sighted and early blind individuals' representation of numerical magnitude is mainly rooted in world-centered coordinates when numerical information is given in canonical orientation (i.e., from small to large), whereas hand-centered coordinates become more relevant when the scanning of the mental number line proceeds in non-canonical direction.
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18
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Cattaneo Z, Schiavi S, Lega C, Renzi C, Tagliaferri M, Boehringer J, Carbon CC, Vecchi T. Biases in spatial bisection induced by viewing male and female faces. Exp Psychol 2015; 61:368-77. [PMID: 24614871 DOI: 10.1027/1618-3169/a000256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Research on visual attention triggered by face gender is still relatively sparse. In the present study, three experiments are reported in which male and female participants were required to estimate the midpoint of a line (i.e., the "line bisection task"): at each end of the line a face was presented. Depending on the experimental condition, faces could be of the same gender (i.e., two males or two females) or the opposite gender. Experiments 1 and 2 converged in showing that when a male face was presented at the right and a female face at the left endpoint of the line, a clear rightward bias emerged compared to the other experimental conditions, indicating that male faces captured attention more than female faces. Importantly, male faces used across Experiments 1 and 2 were rated as more threatening than female faces, suggesting that perceived level of threat may have been responsible for the observed bias toward the male face. Experiment 3 corroborated this hypothesis by finding an attentional bias toward the male face with high threat (angry) faces but not with low threat (smiling) faces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zaira Cattaneo
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy Brain Connectivity Center, National Neurological Institute C. Mondino, Pavia, Italy
| | - Susanna Schiavi
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy
| | - Carlotta Lega
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milano, Italy
| | - Chiara Renzi
- Brain Connectivity Center, National Neurological Institute C. Mondino, Pavia, Italy
| | | | - Jana Boehringer
- Department of General Psychology and Methodology, University of Bamberg, Germany
| | | | - Tomaso Vecchi
- Brain Connectivity Center, National Neurological Institute C. Mondino, Pavia, Italy Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Italy
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19
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Bonino D, Ricciardi E, Bernardi G, Sani L, Gentili C, Vecchi T, Pietrini P. Spatial imagery relies on a sensory independent, though sensory sensitive, functional organization within the parietal cortex: a fMRI study of angle discrimination in sighted and congenitally blind individuals. Neuropsychologia 2015; 68:59-70. [PMID: 25575449 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2014] [Revised: 12/31/2014] [Accepted: 01/05/2015] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Although vision offers distinctive information to space representation, individuals who lack vision since birth often show perceptual and representational skills comparable to those found in sighted individuals. However, congenitally blind individuals may result in impaired spatial analysis, when engaging in 'visual' spatial features (e.g., perspective or angle representation) or complex spatial mental abilities. In the present study, we measured behavioral and brain responses using functional magnetic resonance imaging in sighted and congenitally blind individuals during spatial imagery based on a modified version of the mental clock task (e.g., angle discrimination) and a simple recognition control condition, as conveyed across distinct sensory modalities: visual (sighted individuals only), tactile and auditory. Blind individuals were significantly less accurate during the auditory task, but comparable-to-sighted during the tactile task. As expected, both groups showed common neural activations in intraparietal and superior parietal regions across visual and non-visual spatial perception and imagery conditions, indicating the more abstract, sensory independent functional organization of these cortical areas, a property that we named supramodality. At the same time, however, comparisons in brain responses and functional connectivity patterns across experimental conditions demonstrated also a functional lateralization, in a way that correlated with the distinct behavioral performance in blind and sighted individuals. Specifically, blind individuals relied more on right parietal regions, mainly in the tactile and less in the auditory spatial processing. In sighted, spatial representation across modalities relied more on left parietal regions. In conclusions, intraparietal and superior parietal regions subserve supramodal spatial representations in sighted and congenitally blind individuals. Differences in their recruitment across non-visual spatial processing in sighted and blind individuals may be related to distinctive behavioral performance and/or mental strategies adopted when they deal with the same spatial representation as conveyed through different sensory modalities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Bonino
- Laboratory of Clinical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Department of Surgery, Medical, Molecular Pathology, and Critical Care, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Emiliano Ricciardi
- Laboratory of Clinical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Department of Surgery, Medical, Molecular Pathology, and Critical Care, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy; MRI Lab, Fondazione "G. Monasterio" Regione Toscana/C.N.R., Pisa, Italy.
| | - Giulio Bernardi
- Laboratory of Clinical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Department of Surgery, Medical, Molecular Pathology, and Critical Care, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Sani
- Laboratory of Clinical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Department of Surgery, Medical, Molecular Pathology, and Critical Care, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Claudio Gentili
- Clinical Psychology Branch, Department of Surgery, Medical, Molecular Pathology, and Critical Care, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Tomaso Vecchi
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy; Brain Connectivity Center, National Neurological Institute C. Mondino, Pavia, Italy
| | - Pietro Pietrini
- Laboratory of Clinical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Department of Surgery, Medical, Molecular Pathology, and Critical Care, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy; Clinical Psychology Branch, Department of Surgery, Medical, Molecular Pathology, and Critical Care, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
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20
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Fischer MH, Shaki S. Spatial Associations in Numerical Cognition—From Single Digits to Arithmetic. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2014; 67:1461-83. [DOI: 10.1080/17470218.2014.927515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 125] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
The literature on spatial associations during number processing is dominated by the SNARC (spatial–numerical association of response codes) effect. We describe spatial biases found for single digits and pairs of numbers, first in the “original” speeded parity task and then extending the scope to encompass different tasks, a range of measures, and various populations. Then we review theoretical accounts before surveying the emerging evidence for similar spatial associations during mental arithmetic. We conclude that the mental number line hypothesis and an embodied approach are useful frameworks for further studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin H. Fischer
- Division of Cognitive Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam OT Golm, Germany
| | - Samuel Shaki
- Psychology Department, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel
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21
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Sensory deprivation: Visual experience alters the mental number line. Behav Brain Res 2014; 261:110-3. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2013.12.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2013] [Revised: 12/03/2013] [Accepted: 12/09/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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22
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Representational pseudoneglect: a review. Neuropsychol Rev 2014; 24:148-65. [PMID: 24414221 DOI: 10.1007/s11065-013-9245-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2013] [Accepted: 12/23/2013] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Pseudoneglect, the tendency to be biased towards the left-hand side of space, is a robust and consistent behavioural observation best demonstrated on the task of visuospatial line bisection, where participants are asked to centrally bisect visually presented horizontal lines at the perceived centre. A number of studies have revealed that a representational form of pseudoneglect exists, occurring when participants are asked to either mentally represent a stimulus or explore a stimulus using touch in the complete absence of direct visuospatial processing. Despite the growing number of studies that have demonstrated representational pseudoneglect there exists no current and comprehensive review of these findings and no discussion of a theoretical framework into which these findings may fall. An important gap in the current representational pseudoneglect literature is a discussion of the developmental trajectory of the bias. The focus of the current review is to outline studies that have observed representational pseudoneglect in healthy participants, consider a theoretical framework for these observations, and address the impact of lifespan factors such as cognitive ageing on the phenomenon.
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23
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Cattaneo Z, Lega C, Boehringer J, Gallucci M, Girelli L, Carbon CC. Happiness takes you right: The effect of emotional stimuli on line bisection. Cogn Emot 2013; 28:325-44. [DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2013.824871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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24
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Castronovo J, Delvenne JF. Superior numerical abilities following early visual deprivation. Cortex 2013; 49:1435-40. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2012.12.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2012] [Revised: 12/20/2012] [Accepted: 12/28/2012] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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25
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Blini E, Cattaneo Z, Vallar G. Different effects of numerical magnitude on visual and proprioceptive reference frames. Front Psychol 2013; 4:190. [PMID: 23616777 PMCID: PMC3627981 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2013] [Accepted: 03/29/2013] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
This study assessed whether numerical magnitude affects the setting of basic spatial coordinates and reference frames, namely the subjective straight ahead. Three tasks were given to 24 right-handed healthy participants: a proprioceptive and a visuo-proprioceptive task, requiring pointing to the subjective straight ahead, and a visual task, requiring a perceptual judgment about the straight ahead position of a light moving left-to-right, or right-to-left. A control task, requiring the bisection of rods of different lengths, was also given. The four tasks were performed under conditions of passive auditory numerical (i.e., listening to small, “2,” and large, “8,” numbers), and neutral auditory-verbal (“blah”) stimulation. Numerical magnitude modulated the participants’ deviations in the visual straight ahead task, when the movement of the light was from left-to-right, with the small number bringing about a leftward deviation, the large number a rightward deviation. A similar directional modulation was found in the rod bisection task, in line with previous evidence. No effects of numerical magnitude were found on the proprioceptive and visuo-proprioceptive straight ahead tasks. These results suggest that the spatial effects induced by the activation of the mental number line extend to an egocentric frame of reference but only when a portion of horizontal space has to be “actively” explored.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elvio Blini
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca Milano, Italy ; Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization, University of Padova Padova, Italy
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26
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Di Luca S, Pesenti M, Vallar G, Girelli L. Numbers reorient visuo-spatial attention during cancellation tasks. Exp Brain Res 2013; 225:549-57. [PMID: 23307158 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-012-3393-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2012] [Accepted: 12/21/2012] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Numbers induce shifts of spatial attention on the left or the right sides of external space as a function of their magnitude. However, whether this number-space association is restricted to the linear horizontal extensions, or extends to the whole visual scene, is still an open question. This study investigates, by means of a cancellation paradigm, the influence of numerical magnitude during scanning tasks in which participants freely explore complex visual scenes unconstrained towards either the horizontal or the vertical unidimensional axes. Five cancellation tasks were adapted in which Arabic digits were used as targets or distracters, in structured (lines and columns) or unstructured visual displays, with a smaller (2 or 3 types of distracters) or larger (10 or more types of distracters) sets of stimuli. Results show that the participants' hits distribution was a function of number magnitude: shifted on the left for small and on the right for large numbers. This effect was maximised when numerical cues were sparse, randomly arranged and, critically, irrelevant to the task. Overall, this study provides novel evidence from visuo-spatial exploratory cancellation tasks for an attentional shift induced by number magnitude.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel Di Luca
- Centre de Neuroscience Système et Cognition, Institut de Recherche en Sciences Psychologiques, Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Place Cardinal Mercier, 10, 1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
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27
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Listening to numbers affects visual and haptic bisection in healthy individuals and neglect patients. Neuropsychologia 2012; 50:913-25. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2012.01.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2011] [Revised: 01/21/2012] [Accepted: 01/25/2012] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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28
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Hach S, Schütz-Bosbach S. Touching base: The effect of participant and stimulus modulation factors on a haptic line bisection task. Laterality 2011; 17:180-201. [PMID: 22385141 DOI: 10.1080/1357650x.2010.551128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Acquiring information about our environment through touch is vital in everyday life. Yet very little literature exists about factors that may influence haptic or tactile processing. Recent neuroimaging studies have reported haptic laterality effects that parallel those reported in the visual literature. With the use of a haptic variant of the classical line bisection task, the present study aimed to determine the presence of laterality effects on a behavioural level. Specifically, three handedness groups including strong dextrals, strong sinistrals, and-the to-date largely neglected group of-mixed-handers were examined in their ability to accurately bisect stimuli constructed from corrugated board strips of various lengths. Stimulus factors known to play a role in visuospatial perception including stimulus location, the hand used for bisection, and direction of exploration were systematically varied through pseudo-randomisation. Similar to the visual domain, stimulus location and length as well as participants' handedness and the hand used for bisection exerted a significant influence on participants' estimate of the centre of haptically explored stimuli. However, these effects differed qualitatively from those described for the visual domain, and the factor direction of exploration did not exert any significant effect. This indicates that laterality effects reported on a neural level are sufficiently pronounced to result in measurable behavioural effects. The results, first, add to laterality effects reported for the visual and auditory domain, second, are in line with supramodal spatial processing and third, provide additional evidence to a conceptualisation of pseudoneglect and neglect as signs of hemispheric attentional asymmetries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sylvia Hach
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
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29
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Number magnitude to finger mapping is disembodied and topological. Exp Brain Res 2011; 209:395-400. [PMID: 21298424 PMCID: PMC3047670 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-011-2562-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2010] [Accepted: 01/17/2011] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
It has been shown that humans associate fingers with numbers because finger counting strategies interact with numerical judgements. At the same time, there is evidence that there is a relation between number magnitude and space as small to large numbers seem to be represented from left to right. In the present study, we investigated whether number magnitude to finger mapping is embodied (related to the order of fingers on the hand) or disembodied (spatial). We let healthy human volunteers name random numbers between 1 and 30, while simultaneously tapping a random finger. Either the hands were placed directly next to each other, 30 cm apart, or the hands were crossed such that the left hand was on the right side of the body mid-line. The results show that naming a smaller number than the previous one was associated with tapping a finger to the left of the previously tapped finger. This shows that there is a spatial (disembodied) mapping between number magnitude and fingers. Furthermore, we show that this mapping is topological rather than metrically scaled.
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30
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Blind individuals show pseudoneglect in bisecting numerical intervals. Atten Percept Psychophys 2011; 73:1021-8. [DOI: 10.3758/s13414-011-0094-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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31
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Cattaneo Z, Fantino M, Silvanto J, Vallar G, Vecchi T. Tapping effects on numerical bisection. Exp Brain Res 2010; 208:21-8. [PMID: 20963580 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-010-2451-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2010] [Accepted: 10/04/2010] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Numerical magnitude is believed to be represented along a mental number line (MNL), and there is evidence to suggest that the activation of the MNL affects the perception and representation of external space. In the present study, we investigated whether a spatial motor task affects numerical processing in the auditory modality. Blindfolded participants were presented with a numerical interval bisection task, while performing a tapping task with either their left or right hand, either in the fronto-central, fronto-left, or fronto-right peripersonal space. Results showed that tapping significantly influenced the participants' numerical bisection, with tapping in the left side of space increasing the original tendency to err leftward, and tapping to the right reducing such bias. Importantly, the effect depended on the side of space in which the tapping activity was performed, regardless of which hand was used. Tapping with either the left or right hand in the fronto-central space did not affect the participants' bias. These findings offer novel support for the existence of bidirectional interactions between external and internal representations of space.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zaira Cattaneo
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell'Ateneo Nuovo, Milan, Italy.
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